Andhra Bank forays into insurance sector

Andhra Bank Mumbai Zone General Manager today announced the bank's expansion plans with emphasis on increasing exposure to the SMEs, lending to farmers and launching a life insurance product by next year.

"The thrust will be on disbursing loans to the SMEs and farmers. Business from Gujarat accounts for Rs 1,500 crore, and we are targeting Rs 2,000 crore business by next year," the bank's Mumbai Zone General Manager M Anjaneya Prasad told reporters. Mumbai zone recorded a business of Rs 22,000 crore till the quarter ending June. The zone covers states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa, he said. "Till now we have been the corporate agents of LIC, but from next year the bank will launch its own insurance product in the country in a joint venture with the UK based L&G Insurance Co," Prasad said. Two years ago Andhra Bank formed a joint venture with the UK-based L&G Insurance Co to foray into insurance business and the product is now ready for the launch, he added. "We also plan to open another four branches in Gujarat and soon we will have 18 branches here," Prasad said.

The bank registered a year-on-year growth in SME segment of 43 per cent with an exposure of Rs 5,978 crore upto quarter ending June, nearly 10-12 per cent of the total credit disbursed," Prasad said. “In Gujarat we have Rs 100 crore exposure in SME segment and plan to double it by next year, he added. We plan to increase our branches to 83 in Mumbai zone by next month, from the existing network of 72 branches. The business per branch is estimated to be at Rs 7 crore, Prasad said.

The bank has crossed Rs 1,05,280 crore business mark for the quarter ending June, and its net profit has surged by 230 per cent to Rs 256 crore in first quarter 2009-10. As part of our overseas expansion plans, Andhra Bank has jointly signed aN MoU with Bank of Baroda and Indian Overseas Bank to open its overseas branch in Malaysia, Prasad said. The branch is expected to commence operations from next year”, he added. The number of bank branches increased to 1448 upto quarter ending June(2008-09), against network of 1371 branches in the corresponding period a year ago.